Percentile rankings vs 1,600+ peer institutions. Higher is better.
Career OutcomesAzimuth ranks Oregon Health & Science University #436 for overall value on Azimuth's composite among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn median 4-year earnings of $110,300, placing Oregon Health & Science University in the 99.5 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Oregon Health & Science University #84 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Oregon Health & Science University's standing reflects what a health-sciences-focused public institution can deliver when program concentration and labor-market demand align — graduates enter fields where hiring is strong and earnings climb quickly after enrollment. The institution's return ranking confirms that the investment in a health-focused degree here translates into financial outcomes that hold up well against the broader nonprofit four-year landscape.
Azimuth ranks Oregon Health & Science University #436 for overall value on Azimuth's composite among nonprofit four-year institutions. A public university in Portland, OR, Oregon Health & Science University is a specialized health sciences institution with a concentrated focus on clinical and professional training. Undergraduate enrollment is 836, reflecting the institution's narrow program scope rather than a broad liberal arts or research-university footprint. The composite is anchored in return on investment. Azimuth ranks Oregon Health & Science University #84 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn median four-year earnings of $110,300, a figure that reflects the institution's dominant program family in Health and the strong labor-market demand for credentialed health professionals. Those earnings place Oregon Health & Science University well above the $52,536 peer median among comparable institutions in the Azimuth coverage set. Access and mobility sit lower in the composite. Oregon Health & Science University enrolls 28.9% Pell Grant recipients and 31.6% first-generation undergraduates — figures shaped in part by the institution's specialized admissions pipeline, which draws heavily from students already committed to health careers. Azimuth ranks Oregon Health & Science University in the 11.1 percentile for access and the 41.3 percentile for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions, reflecting the narrower socioeconomic reach that typically accompanies highly specialized professional programs.
Oregon Health & Science University's cost structure reflects its mission as a health-sciences-focused public institution. While the institution does not publish detailed net-price breakdowns by income band in the standard format, the university's tuition and fees are set at public rates, with need-based financial aid available through federal (FAFSA) and institutional programs. Students should verify current net-price estimates through the institution's financial aid office, as pricing varies by program and enrollment status. Median federal student loan debt at graduation is $16,625, and families using Parent PLUS borrow a median of $20,706; private or institutional loans may add further borrowing that falls outside these federal-only figures. See the Parent PLUS risk framework for how household context shapes PLUS decisions. For the typical graduate at the institution's median four-year earnings of $110,300, median federal debt of $16,625 projects to a monthly payment of about $188 under standard ten-year repayment. In a downside earnings scenario anchored on lower-earning program clusters, projected four-year earnings of $104,592 would shift the real monthly burden considerably, a pattern worth exploring at the program level rather than at the institutional average. For personalized projections across earnings scenarios—including Parent PLUS planning and income-driven repayment options—use Azimuth's Financial GPS tool.
Oregon Health & Science University is a specialized public institution in Portland, OR, built almost entirely around health sciences — a strong fit for students who have already identified nursing, clinical health professions, or related biomedical fields as their intended path and want a focused, professionally oriented environment rather than a broad liberal arts experience. The earnings case is compelling for this program mix. Graduates earn median 4-year earnings of $110,300, placing Oregon Health & Science University in the 99.5 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions — a reflection of how directly the Health program concentration translates into well-compensated clinical careers. Azimuth ranks Oregon Health & Science University #84 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Access is meaningful but not broad. 28.9% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants and 31.6% are first-generation students — modest shares that reflect the institution's specialized mission and the credential requirements that precede enrollment in many of its programs. Oregon Health & Science University sits in the 99.9 percentile for low-income graduate earnings among nonprofit four-year institutions — a historical 10-year Scorecard measure not yet updated to the 4-year horizon — suggesting that students from lower-income backgrounds who do enroll and complete a degree see strong financial returns. Fit depends on two realistic filters: the program portfolio is concentrated in Health and closely adjacent fields, so students without a clear orientation toward clinical or biomedical careers will find limited breadth here. Median debt at graduation is $16,625, which is worth weighing against the strong earnings trajectory for health-profession graduates specifically.
This school profile was generated using Azimuth's proprietary ROI framework, developed by founder Daniel Rogers. Our methodology transforms federal education data into actionable insights for families.
College Azimuth is a private research initiative and is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education or Federal Student Aid. Data sourced from College Scorecard.
This content is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, investment, or professional advice. Consult a qualified advisor before making any financial decisions.
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This is the Oregon Health & Science University hub overview page. Related admissions, cost, outcomes, majors, and similar-school pages provide the detailed school data.
Data not available for this income tier.
Based on federal data for students receiving aid. Actual costs may vary.
Oregon Health & Science University's cost structure reflects its mission as a health-sciences-focused public institution. While the institution does not publish detailed net-price breakdowns by income band in the standard format, the university's tuition and fees are set at public rates, with need-based financial aid available through federal (FAFSA) and institutional programs.
Students should verify current net-price estimates through the institution's financial aid office, as pricing varies by program and enrollment status. Median federal student loan debt at graduation is $16,625, and families using Parent PLUS borrow a median of $20,706; private or institutional loans may add further borrowing that falls outside these federal-only figures.
See the [Parent PLUS risk framework](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) for how household context shapes PLUS decisions. For the typical graduate at the institution's median four-year earnings of $110,300, median federal debt of $16,625 projects to a monthly payment of about $188 under standard ten-year repayment.
In a downside earnings scenario anchored on lower-earning program clusters, projected four-year earnings of $104,592 would shift the real monthly burden considerably, a pattern worth exploring at the program level rather than at the institutional average. For personalized projections across earnings scenarios—including Parent PLUS planning and income-driven repayment options—use [Azimuth's Financial GPS tool](/analysis/financial-gps-framework/).
Graduates earn median 4-year earnings of $110,300, placing Oregon Health & Science University in the 99.5 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure runs well above the $52,536 median at comparable institutions (same control and size band), reflecting the concentrated health-sciences focus that channels most graduates directly into high-demand clinical and research roles.
Azimuth ranks Oregon Health & Science University #84 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Oregon Health & Science University also sits in the 99.9 percentile for low-income graduate earnings among nonprofit four-year institutions — a [historical 10-year Scorecard measure](/analysis/college-scorecard-2026-4-year-vs-10-year-earnings-2-2/) not yet updated to the four-year horizon — with low-income graduates earning $137,900, a figure that reflects how consistently the institution's health-sciences programs deliver strong outcomes across income backgrounds.
The program lineup at Oregon Health & Science University is anchored in the Health sciences, where employer demand is deep and career pathways are well-defined. Nursing stands out as the program combining the broadest graduate cohort with the strongest aggregate earnings contribution: Nursing graduates 391 students with median earnings of $104,592 four years after enrollment, and Azimuth ranks the program #9 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions [per the program-ranking methodology](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) — at 1.2x the national benchmark for the field.
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions rounds out the core program offering, reinforcing the institution's signature concentration in health and clinical sciences. Because Oregon Health & Science University operates as a specialized health-sciences university in OR, its program mix is deliberately narrow — which means the return story is less about breadth across fields and more about depth of outcomes within a single high-value domain.
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
391 graduates
Oregon Health & Science University is a specialized health sciences university whose program mix is almost entirely concentrated in Health — a signature that sets it apart from comprehensive public universities and aligns it closely with the clinical and biomedical workforce needs of the Pacific Northwest. Across 2 programs serving roughly 397 students annually, the institution's degree output reflects a deliberate focus on training nurses, physicians, pharmacists, and allied health professionals rather than distributing graduates across a broad range of academic disciplines.
Nursing is the largest program at Oregon Health & Science University, graduating 391 students and delivering median earnings of $104,592 four years after enrollment. Azimuth ranks the program #9 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, a strong result that reflects both the clinical depth of the training and the sustained demand for skilled nursing professionals in Oregon's healthcare labor market.
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions is the second-largest program, rounding out the institution's core health-sciences footprint. The highest-earning program at Oregon Health & Science University is Nursing, where 391 graduates earn median earnings of $104,592 four years after enrollment; Azimuth ranks Nursing #9 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, per [how Azimuth evaluates programs](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/).
The concentration in health sciences means that most programs at Oregon Health & Science University are high-demand, direct-to-workforce pathways — fields where graduates enter clinical roles with strong and stable hiring. A smaller share of graduates pursue research or advanced-degree pathways in biomedical sciences, where four-year earnings undercount long-run trajectory.
The [supply and demand for college graduates](/analysis/supply-demand-map-college-degrees/) provides context for how health-sciences program families align with national labor-market demand, particularly in regions like the Pacific Northwest where healthcare employment continues to grow.
